New Group Of Cattlemen Sue Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey's legal problems over a program she broadcast two years ago on food safety and the so-called mad cow disease have resurfaced.

A new group of Texas cattlemen filed a $1 million libel suit in state court Thursday against the talk show host, repeating the same charges that a judge dismissed in February against Winfrey, her production company and a guest on the show in a $12 million federal libel suit.

The prospects for the new lawsuit, filed in Dumas, about 45 miles north of the Amarillo courtroom where the federal suit was heard earlier this year, are unclear. U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson ruled in that case the cattlemen could not sue under Texas' food disparagement act, and jurors rejected claims that the program knowingly broadcast false and disparaging remarks about beef. The cattlemen are appealing.

The new lawsuit, brought by 130 cattle owners, also is based on what has come to be known as Texas' veggie libel law, which prohibits knowingly making false and disparaging remarks about perishable food.

The cattlemen charge that the program segment focusing on mad cow disease contributed to a sharp decline in U.S. beef prices. There is no evidence that the disease has spread to U.S. beef cattle.

In an unrelated development, Winfrey's syndicator announced Friday that Winfrey's daily talk show will be seen on free television in the United Kingdom, in addition to its already existing pay TV broadcasts.

King World International, an arm of Winfrey syndicator King World Productions Inc., said it has reached an agreement with Britain's Channel 5 to have Winfrey's program broadcast five days a week via free television.